The Federal Reserve (also known as The Fed) is a central banking system that controls the monetary system of the United States. Although it acts with the authority of the government, the Federal Reserve is not an official government agency. It was established by the Federal Reserve Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by PresidentWoodrow Wilson in 1913. The Federal Reserve is headed by a Board of Governors and a Chairman. The current Chairman is Ben Bernanke, a Republican appointed by President George W. Bush; his predecessor was Alan Greenspan, a Republican appointed by President Ronald Reagan.

One job of the Federal Reserve is to control inflation by regulating the free market.[1] One of its main functions is to set the amount of money that banks must keep in reserve and to set the interest rates for money it lends to banks.

In 2008 the Fed became a major player in many new ways, taking over and rescuing (or not rescuing) many major banks, and making trillions of dollars of guarantees. See Financial Crisis of 2008.

Contents

Recent

Greenspan, Alan. The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World (2007), memoirs covering his chairmanship 1987-2006 excerpt and text search

Greider, William, Secrets of the Temple. (1987). ISBN 0-671-67556-7; nontechnical book explaining the structures, functions, and history of the Federal Reserve, focusing specifically on the tenure of Paul Volcker

Meyer, Lawrence H. A Term at the Fed: An Insider's View. (2004) ISBN 0-06-054270-5; focuses on the period from 1996 to 2002, emphasizing Alan Greenspan's chairmanship during the Asian financial crisis, the stock market boom and the 9-11 Attacks